Under the Sea (Hidden World) [Hardcover]

Scholastic Books (Author), Gallimard Jeunesse (Author), Pierre De Hugo (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999 | Series: Hidden World

Full-color illustrations + 6 acetates.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-Under the Ground suffers from its European origin. Rabbits there do live underground, but not North American cottontails. The kingfisher pictured is also the European variety, not the North American belted one, and the woodpecker is a European great spotted, not native to the New World. (And why include a woodpecker at all?) Two or three lines of text provide minimal information on each pictured critter. Under the Sea provides one factoid per creature and briefly displays the methods by which humans visit this realm. Purists may balk at the terms starfish and jellyfish as opposed to sea star and sea jelly (neither, after all, is a fish). The books use what might be termed "obscurancies," very dark transparencies underlaid with solid black pages, making the imposed images extremely shadowy. Both have a punch-out "flashlight" complete with a white circle of "light" at one end that, when passed between the obscurancy and the black page, spotlights the featured creature in full color. (A slot is provided at the back of the book for flashlight storage, but one suspects it will vanish early on.) Hardly founts of information, but if you're into tidbits and toys, certainly fun to play with.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 26 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590109928
• ISBN-13: 978-0590109925
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under the Sea (First Discovery Book : Hidden World), September 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Under the Sea (Hidden World) (Hardcover)

I was amazed at how my two and a half year old was totally taken by this book. The concept so simple but so very effective. The flashlight is a definate asset. The animal descriptions are short and concise and the pictures are just perfect.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever Concept!, February 5, 2002

By 

"aelud" (West Chester, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Sea (Hidden World) (Hardcover)

My daughter just had a birthday last week, and so my brother sent her some books. One of them was "Under the Sea" and the other was "Under the Ground". They are both being enjoyed by my kids (5 and 3) and me! They aren't very long, but they are VERY CLEVER. Every two-page spread has information and drawings on one side, and then a plastic page on top of a black page on the other. You punch out a paper 'flashlight' that is located in the back of the book, slide it under the plastic and are then able to see/highlight what is hidden underneath. We've been looking at them daily and are happy to have them.